Stories from Friday, January 6, 2017

"A decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered...."

DELTA, Mo. (SMNS) -- The sixth-seeded Delta Bobcats claimed the consolation championship of the Delta New Year's Invitational Tournament with a 51-44 win over the Scott County Central Bravettes. Carrie Waddle scored a game-high 21 points for the Bobcats...

  (COLUMBIA, MO) -- The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has $9.5 million available to help Missouri landowners restore wetlands and $360,000 available for easements to protect agricultural land from conversion to non-agricultural uses...

SIKESTON -- Although Thursday's snowfall was just a dusting, it also served as a reminder the winter season is here, and motorists should be prepared for future weather events. "It's still early in the season," Michael J. Right, spokesperson for AAA Missouri, said, referring to the potential for more winter weather in the coming weeks...

SIKESTON -- Three months ago, 81-year-old Ross Marshall of East Prairie decided to add some fitness into his life and joined the YMCA. "It's the best thing I've done for myself," Marshall said. Now Marshall is being joined by many others who have made the decision to get fit in the new year. Typically gyms across the country see an increase in memberships in January as people make New Year's resolutions to lose weight and get in better shape...

SIKESTON -- Although Thursday's snowfall was just a dusting, it also served as a reminder the winter season is here, and motorists should be prepared for future weather events. "It's still early in the season," Michael J. Right, spokesperson for AAA Missouri, said, referring to the potential for more winter weather in the coming weeks...

GIDEON, Mo. -- Carrie Lavern Moore, the daughter of the late Mortie and Lillian Opal Bramlett Lawrence, was born July 23, 1926, in Appleton, Ark. Carrie was a member of the First Assembly of God in Malden. She was united in marriage to Carlee Moore on April 19, 1943, in Piggott, Ark. He preceded her in death on March 14, 2009...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- Estalee Tanner, 93, died Jan. 6, 2017, at St. Louis. Born Sept. 26, 1923, in Concord, to the late Beulah Mae Hutson and John Henry Pool, she was a member of the First Baptist Church in Hayti. On Oct. 5, 1940, in Portageville, she married Walter "Gooden" Tanner, and he preceded her in death on Jan. 22, 2004...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Samuel Morgan "Sam" Barker, 70, of East Prairie, died Jan. 5, 2017. Born Aug. 17, 1946, in Cairo, Ill., to the late Ben and Opal Morgan Barker, he was a self-employed farmer and avid outdoorsman. He loved his family, friends and making duck calls. He was an active member of the First Christian Church in East Prairie...

ESSEX, Mo. -- Walter Wyman, 88, died Jan. 6, 2017. Arrangements are tentatively set for visitation at 11 a.m. with services at 2 p.m. Monday at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Charles William Parker, 79, died Jan. 5, 2017, at his home. Born Dec. 22, 1937, in Cape Girardeau, to the late Harold and Lucille Pape Parker, he was a forklift operator for 20 years at Superior Electric. He later worked at the Estech Fertilizer Mill in Chaffee, the Chaffee Water and Parks Departments and for 11 years as a driver for the Chaffee Meals on Wheels. ...

SIKESTON -- Sarah Lena Williams, 81, died Jan. 5, 2017, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center. Born Feb. 11, 1935, in Daisy Tenn., to the late Early and Linnie Bilbrey Narrord, she was a member of Hopewell Baptist Church in Hopewell, Ala. On March 9, 1951, in Guntersville Ala., she married Leonard Williams Jr., who preceded her in death on Dec. 13, 1977...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Gregory Kent Knutson, son of the late Leo Knutson and Geraldine Flannary Whitler, was born on Oct. 19, 1950, in Evansville, Ind., and departed this life on Jan. 4, 2017, at the emergency room at Southeast Health in Dexter at the age of 66...

BERTRAND, Mo. -- James Edward Waters, 79, died Jan. 5, 2017, at his home near Bertrand. Born May 4, 1937, in Mississippi, to the late Jess and Alice Sarah Northern Waters, he had lived in the Bertrand area a number of years and had been employed in farming...

MARSTON, Mo. -- Donald Glen Volz, 42, died Jan. 5, 2017, at the Pemiscot Memorial Hospital in Hayti. Born March 5, 1974, in Dexter, son of Vera Lee March Sanders and the late Donald Glenn Sanders, he had lived in the Dexter and Essex areas most of his life...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- William Kenneth Link Sr., 89, died Jan. 4, 2017, at the St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock, Ark. Born Aug. 25, 1927, in Cape Girardeau, son of the late Jesse Oscar and Pearl Ada Walker Link, he had lived in Lancaster, Calif., and then returned to Bloomfield in 1974. He was a veteran of the U.S Air Force and had worked as an aircraft electronics inspector with NASA before he retired...